Blinken Ends Latest Mideast Visit Without a Cease-Fire, Warning ‘Time Is of the Essence’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without securing any major breakthrough for a cease-fire deal, warning on Tuesday that “time is of the essence” even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Our message is simple, it's clear, and it's urgent.
00:06We need to get the ceasefire and hostage agreement over the finish line.
00:11And we need to do it now.
00:15Time is of the essence.
00:17Israel has now accepted that proposal.
00:19I heard that directly from Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday.
00:22And we hope and expect that Hamas will do the same.
00:26That's the critical next step.
00:27But once that happens, we also have to complete the detailed implementation agreements
00:35that go along with putting the ceasefire into effect.
00:39And there, it's very important that everyone do what's necessary
00:46to bring the flexibility to the table to make sure that we can get the implementation agreed
00:53and that the parties to the ceasefire can make good on the commitments that they've made in the agreement.
01:01So that's a process that's ongoing at the same time.
01:05We're engaged every single day with Israel, and our Qatari and Egyptian partners are engaged with Hamas.
01:13And over the coming days, we are going to do everything possible
01:20to, one, get Hamas on board with the bridging proposal,
01:24and then to make sure that both parties work on and agree to necessary details of implementation
01:32that would allow everything to go forward.
01:34The United States does not accept any long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel.
01:41More specifically, the agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza.
01:53And Israel has agreed to that.